In an effort to make the weekend as clear as possible, we're going to be giving you the rundown of pretty much everything you missed. The good news is we hear that many people go to meet their online buddies-- this is good because it sounds like it wasn't exactly a crazy exciting year for announcements or freebies. Let's get started, shall we?

First, they announced the location and date of next year's show-- in Rhode Island, supposedly close to Hasbro HQ. (We've been, it's a nice place.) Mark your calendars for Providence, RI on July 1, 2007.

One thing we noticed while reading coverage of the panels is that there seems to be room for interpretation by the reporters-- so something may be reported as speculation on one, fact on another, and as such it's a little tricky to know what's entirely true on some of the toy-related things. As such, well, this is as close as you can get to talking to someone who's been there.

Hasbro Product Panel: This is the good one. All of Hasbro's new releases, Q&A, the gap between Cybertron and the movie, new releases (a mentioned above) and a lot of other things you need to read about: The Allspark.

Hasbro Cartoon Creation Panel: All about how they made, dubbed, packaged, and sold the Cybertron series along with a lot of interesting factoids about the creation of the show: The Allspark, TFormers.com.

Club/Convention Panel: Information on Astrotrain and other club exclusives, why some molds are used, and other issues concerning the show and the club: The Allspark.

From Drawing Board to Toy Panel: A panel devoted to talking about the design of the original line, which incorporated Diaclone and Microman releases: The Allspark.

Peter Cullen Panel: The long and short of it is that Optimus Prime's voice actor apparently does lots of work on a lot of projects, and apparently signed a three picture deal for the movies-- which doesn't mean they're doing three movies, but if they do, he'll be involved. He also apparently did some work with the Predator character in those films, which was interesting. Read all about it at: The Allspark.

Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the Saga Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

We also added archive pages so you can go through the entire column's run. Hooray!

From left to right: Paploo, R2-Q5, Hoth Rebel Soldier. These are all new since our last update, and another one will be going live today! Who will it be? Keep checking Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 149th installment in our ongoing series!

While not entirely licensed (and supposedly fetching $80-$100), this tiny replica of the Sea Panther Hermit Crab seems to be quite popular, despite being pretty puny. Over at Zoids Poison, there's a review and photos, and it looks like fans hoping for a cheap and adequate substitute for the rare, original kit have found neither in this release.

The site's home page also has a list of upcoming releases which we assume may be slightly out of date. Although we're not quite sure what actually hit in September, it does give a very good idea of what's coming out, which is very hard to keep track of these days given the exclusives, limited editions, and so forth.

While trying to find confirmation that G4 is dropping Deep Space Nine from its lineup (thus giving our DVR one less thing to do), we found this article about the finale of the series from a recent issue of Star Trek Magazine which, we have to confess, we thought went out of business. It's just a snippet, but hey, when is the last time you read anything about this particular incarnation of Trek?

Let's start the fun! Today at Galactic Hunter we start with a look at Anakin Skywalker from the 2005 Revenge of the Sith Collection. He comes in two flavors: evil, and really evil. Are either delicious enough to try? Read on!

Next, there's the oft-praised Clone Trooper, also from the Revenge of the Sith. Sure, he's poseable, has a good weapon, and is generally free of flaws. But is that enough? Read on!

It appears McFarlane Toys signed another music deal-- this time, it's Bon Jovi, which is an interesting choice to say the least. Here's hoping for many products. (And anything that ties in to Mr. Bon Jovi's stint on the Star Wars Christmas Album is a plus.)

Over at The Magic Box, there's a five page preview of a new release of the Square-Disney orgy that is Kingdom Hearts II, and it's due in 2007. Part of the bonuses? A remake of the GameBoy Advance entry of the series and more extra craziness. Sounds cool!

Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the Saga Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

We also added archive pages so you can go through the entire column's run. Hooray!

From left to right: Even Piell, Clone Trooper, Wookiee Heavy Gunner, B'Omarr Monk. These are all new since our last update, and another one will be going live today! Who will it be? Keep checking Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 156th installment in our ongoing series!

The Magic Box has shots of Kirby Squeak Squad, a new (to us) release coming out in Japan this November. It's a... well, we don't know what the Hell the gimmick is. But it looks like tons of fun and if it doesn't come out in the USA, we need to import it.

A number of stores are having a Fall sale at the same time as a number of new items are showing up. So first up: many people are reporting Classics at Target and Toys "R" Us stores, and we've even heard a Wal-Mart sighting or two. (Although it seems the Deluxe price varies from store to store, we've heard $9.99 and $12.99 at Target and have personally seen $10.99 at Toys "R" Us.) So far, we've seen Starscream, Megatron, Optimus Prime, and Astrotrain in the wild-- so happy hunting!

As far as sales go, here's what you can find and exploit this week:
Target: Cybertron Deluxe toys $7.99. All other Transformers are 10% off.
Toys "R" Us: free Scout Cybertron toy (the $6.99 ones) with any Transformers purchase of $19.99 or more. Also, some stores are handing out survey receipts for $3 off along with your purchases. (This is seemingly random.)
Wal-Mart: all Deluxe Cybertron toys are under $7.99.

Right now Toys "R" Us seems like the best Hunting Grounds because if you're after Classics toys, you can get some Cybertron freebies at the same time. (We picked up a few items we initially passed on.)

Let's start the fun! Today at Galactic Hunter we start with a look at Wol Cabasshite from the 2004 Jabba's Denizens pack. As basically a tongue on a suction cup, is there a reason to add him to your collection? Read on!

Next, there's the new for 2006 Bib Fortuna, a popular release indeed. Does his new sculpt make up for his lack of articulation below the waist? Read on!

Over at Microman Forever, there's an update showing Asuka and Rei entries in the Microman line. They're quite nice for being so small, and seeing as how these two have been merchandised to death, it's nice to see them as part of this particular range. Some nifty chrome weapons are also included.

Also cool, the October update for Tom's Micro News is up. Votoms, Kinnikuman (Muscle), and a whole bunch of new things are coming and they're pretty cool. Check 'em out.

Numerous news outlets are reporting that Gamestops started preorders for Sony's PlayStation 3 yesterday, and allocations were about 10 units per store. Needless to say, enough gamers plonked down the $100 deposit to cause preorders to close by the end of the day, and supposedly this is 10% of the US allocation of units at launch. So, cross that one off your list.

Wal-Mart has its "Deluxe" Cybertron toys down to under $8 this week, and to replenish the stocks, there are some unique "endcap" cases with the likes of Unicron, Demolishor, Optimus Prime, Brimstone, and lots of other older items you might want. (Especially for the price.) We snagged the deluxe truck Optimus over the weekend and must say we're pleased to see the key gimmick seems to work better than previous releases of the mold.

We also updated many of our checklists, you know where to find 'em if you care.

After gutting its once-proud shell, it seems the Zombie version of Sierra has released a newly packaged budget compilation of the entire Space Quest series. The packaging lampoons the Return of the Jedi poster, and of course, the games focus on hapless space janitor Roger Wilco. If you never went to Monolith Burger to play Astro-Chicken, odds are this won't interest you in the slightest-- but it seems the going rate of this title is about $20 or so, which is probably well worth it if you spent hours dorking it up to this classic sci-fi comedy game series.

Like before, sadly, there is no Mac port. (Although we did have Mac ports of III and I on our Macintosh IIsi. It's a shame we can't play these on our current G5, but it isn't like our laptop couldn't use some game time.)

A number of great new items are up at Entertainment Earth, including the latest series of Star Wars figures from Hasbro. This new assortment has sold out before and is tough to find at retail-- so order a case now!

And as always, buying through these shameless plugs means we get a nickel or two, and we appreciate your shined nickels and loose change.

Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the Saga Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

We also added archive pages so you can go through the entire column's run. Hooray!

From left to right: Luke Skywalker, Roworr, AT-ST Driver, Swoop Trooper. These are all new since our last update, and another one will be going live today! Who will it be? Keep checking Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 163rd installment in our ongoing series!

Oh, and Target is blowing out their September exclusives. If you want Unleashed Boba Fett or General Grievous for about $10, or the Lava Titanium Series Darth Vader for $10 or so, get hunting.

Tower Records is closing up shop, having been bought out. Merchandise liquidation is going on now, and it might be worth looking if you have one of the stores in your area as some great books (Chunklet's Overrated Book, for example), and a number of other oddities are popping up out of the woodwork. EP found some CDs at 75% off in an import clearance bin, and we found some hard to get Stooges and Stan Ridgway, so we're happy. The chain's toy section ranges from OK to pretty good, and you might be able to find something worth snagging, so go take a look.

It's all over the web, but you can read all about it. The first season of Saturday Night is coming to DVD, uncut, with all the bells and whistles and sketches and musical acts. We're quite thrilled. Can't wait until we see seasons with Devo and Tom Waits and such.

According to the Official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Web Site, Rhino Home Video has lost the rights to films featured on the box sets Volume 1 and Volume 3. A quick glance around our neighborhood revealed that with a little digging, it's possible to find these in your area. They're also still available online. If you haven't yet bought them, now is probably a very good time.

NCSX posted the rundown on the initial wave of Japanese offerings for the new Nintendo box. Several games, controllers, cables, and accessories are coming, and pricing isn't exactly stellar. Still, you get a good idea what another market will be getting, and that's kinda fun. It's not an especially exciting launch library, but it does have Zelda, Warioware, and Wii Sports. That's gotta count for something and hopefully will mirror the US release. (And no, we don't get a cut of sales.)

The awesome people over at Microman Forever added two features on recently released Takara Microman Superman figures. One (pictured) is a Cyborg Superman, which seems to borrow mostly from the existing Microman aesthetic rather than the Superman character of Cyborg. The other is based on Superman Returns and while cool, is nothing too spiffy to speak of. The Cyborg Superman is quite striking and includes a number of features-- you may wish to read all about them.

Let's start the fun! Today at Galactic Hunter we look at two figures from 1997, starting with the fairly awful Rebel Fleet Trooper. He's far too tall, too beefy, and his costume is less than accurate. And would you believe people thought he was pretty rotten when he first came out? Read on!

On the other side of the coin, there's the Weequay, which was released just a few months later. And would you believe it was a far superior figure, with an awesome sculpt, fantastic paint, and great accessories? Read on!

It's partially an ad, but mostly, we're just wowed that this exists and is coming to the USA. Limited to just 400 pieces, Attakus is making a 4/5-inch scale Millennium Falcon and Death Star diorama that measures 6 feet wide. The image to the left links to the "discounted" bundle set, which is several hundred pounds. Simply amazing, no?

And as always, buying through these shameless plugs means we get a nickel or two, and we appreciate your shined nickels and loose change.

Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the Saga Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

We also added archive pages so you can go through the entire column's run. Hooray!

From left to right: Jedi Knight, Sebulba, Luke Skywalker, R3-T2. These are all new since our last update, and another one will be going live today! Who will it be? Keep checking Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 170th installment in our ongoing series!

A forum member at Zoids Poison posted a pretty good quick rundown of the newly released LB-04 Iron Kong kit. It's a tiny version of the classic Gorilla mech, and we're somewhat enamored with the series thus far and will probably be needing to get this one too. It's for the Japanese market, so you'll need to import them.

For those keeping track, LB-01 was Gojulas, LB-02 was the Murasame Liger, and LB-03 was Gojulas MK-II, but it actually looks like the Ogre kit. We totally need LB-03 too.

According to HobbyLink Japan, LB-05 is Iron Kong MK-II, LB-06 is Red Horn (swoon), LB-07 is Gator-type, and LB-08 is the Pteranodon type. No images are available at this time of the latter two, so "Gator" might be the 1980s Dimetrodon kit or an actual aligator as shown in recent magazine photos. We're wishing for the classic kit but we're not hopeful.

ACToys.net, a Chinese (we think) site for Transformers and other toy news, has the world's first look at finished, in-package samples of Hasbro's 2007 Sneak Preview figures. If you believe the rumors, these will be out around May. If this sounds ridiculous, it isn't-- Episode I final product in package started appearing seven or eight months early, and that's before the questionable preproduction toy gravy train was what it is today. Click through to see these in and out of the packaging, spoilers apply. And if you consider what you just read a spoiler, well, stop visiting our site. Going from seven readers to six won't hurt us.

While the early news of the film had us quite excited, the designs aren't really doing it for us. Of course, you can see these and come up with your own opinion. We were more that a little surprised that the fan boards seem to be mostly loving these, especially given the nature of any online fandom hating anything "different." Of course, these look a lot like Rock Lords, so.

He hated Gungans, that's one mark for him. Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the 2004 Durge action figure from Clone Wars. He's a bounty hunter, he hated the Mandalorians, and he worked for Count Dooku. What could go wrong? Read on!

A new eBay auction shows the soon-to-be-released Jetfire toy without (and with) his battle helmet. It also shows the guns pointing down rather than up, which makes the toy look less like a fairy. (And we mean in the fantastical creature of myth sense.) The numerous new photos have changed our opinion from "good enough" to "we're kinda excited now."

Also, there's a story going around that's being repeated to death (so it must be true, right?) that David Kaye has been cast as Optimus Prime in the upcoming new animated Transformers series. Kaye is best known for his role of Megatron on Beast Wars. And Beast Machines. And several other shows.

First up: there are many pre-order bonuses coming for the new Castlevania for Nintendo DS. If you pre-order Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, it seems you have a few choices. The game comes with a box of goodies including a soundtrack CD, an art book, a Castlevania stylus, and a little bit more. Wowzers. We need to preorder this.

It appears a new CD has been released by Pilot Scott Tracy called "We Cut Loose". PST, for those who don't know, is a band born from the ashes of The Causey Way, a fairly fun band whose bit was that they were not a cult. The new band has released at least 3 releases, including the new one. If we manage to snag a copy, we'll see if we can review it.

At least he wasn't devoted to some sad ancient religion. Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the 2000 Admiral Motti action figure from Power of the Force. He's being reissued in a box set with a Darth Vader you probably own, a redeco of Grand Moff Tarkin, and five Imperial officers you don't have. So is this figure worth getting at all? Read on!

Fans at ACToys.net posted vehicle and robot modes of the upcoming Target exclusive Ultra Magnus vs. Skywarp set. It's not known if these are "final" final test shots or what, as Ultra Magnus' head has looked different on almost every new sample. Hasbro's own recent preview showed him having a silver face mask, while the ACToys.net sample has a silver one. Actually now that we look at it, the deco seems completely different. So here's a side-by-side shot.

We outline the changes on the image. While there are probably more, we noticed 8 so far. Were we betting men, we would assume Hasbro's image to be heavily photoshopped and not even final product. We have not noticed anything especially astounding with Skywarp, although we will point out that the vehicle mode deco is quite spiffy.

Like you need another excuse to waste money. Online game importer NCS has the Medicom Real Action Hero Season 5 Jack Bauer for pre-order, and yes, it's expensive. It's $155. When Gentle Giant imported other Jack Bauers to the USA for distribution, the MSRP was about $190. As such, you may wish to just bite the bullet and get a Japanese import if you want one. (And no, we don't get any money from this one.)

Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the Saga Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

We also added archive pages so you can go through the entire column's run. Hooray!

From left to right: General Madine, Luke Skywalker, Barada, R-3PO, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. These are all new since our last update, and another one will be going live today! Who will it be? Keep checking Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 176th installment in our ongoing series!

The Square-Enix title Children of Mana ships this week and should hit stores starting tomorrow-- but it varies from store to store. The price seems to be $29.99 across the board (in the USA) and as of yet we're having difficulty finding out if it's any good or not. The series' quality has been all over the place since Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy Adventure came out so long ago.

Oh, and Toys "R" Us put up preorders for the Playstation 3 and Wii yesterday. And both are apparently totally presold out. Well, GOODY.

Over the coming weeks, you'll see Final Fantasy XII (in stores tomorrow), and dozens of other awesome, top-notch games. So even if you can't get one of the new consoles, it seems there's enough to keep you plenty busy until the new hardware becomes commonplace within the next six or so months.

Once again, a forum member at Zoids Poison has the scoop on something else new and exciting. A redeco of the Kotobukiya Shield Liger is on the way, and this "Desert Liger Limited" looks a lot like an old Robo Strux kit. We're smitten. If you have one to sell, do let us know.

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